


Sun-Blighted

by courierhawk



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Sokka (Avatar), Protective Yue, Spiritual, Supportive Gaang, Survivor Guilt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:07:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29118735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/courierhawk/pseuds/courierhawk
Summary: They said that when the Princess was born, she was merely half a person, which was why the Moon spirit had to lend a portion of her power to make the girl whole. But when that power was returned, Yue found herself made half once again, teetering on the edge of bottomless oblivion. She had been prepared for the end, but the Avatar’s retinue was her ship in the storm, and the young man’s hand in hers, a refuge. Is the journey that follows her last chance to escape her fate? Or is this just a little extra time with the boy she had perhaps come to love?–When Yue awakens from returning the Moon Spirit's lifeforce, the life-stealing disease that appeared in her infancy steadily returns. The only hope for a cure lies in taking her outside the Northern territories, somewhere in the distant Earth Kingdom.
Relationships: Sokka/Yue (Avatar)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8
Collections: Avatar Rarepair Exchange 2021





	Sun-Blighted

**Author's Note:**

  * For [leoperidot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/leoperidot/gifts).



\--

_ The Princess tossed and turned in a fitful slumber, her skin burning and wet from sweat, her father sitting by her side with anxiety and distress clear on his face.  _

_ There was nothing that the healers could do for them, other than do their best to ease her father’s discomfort. It was unfortunate, they thought, that the young Princess had survived handing over a piece of her soul, only to become ill immediately after. Her symptoms were familiar, reminiscent of a night so long ago, and of other victims that they could not save. But there weren’t many good ways to put that message into words.  _

_ Three youths were desperate to see her, worried for her health. The young warrior most of all. They begged and pleaded to be let in, to no avail. And the Chief’s words had been clear: no visitors, not until they knew what to do next. What they had to do to save her. _

_ But while voices on the outside deliberated on her fate, Yue was buried in a well of dreams.  _

_ She was ensnared in a silent waterspout under a red moon, red light filtered through a spinning wall of water, voices whispering around her. Like in a daze, Yue pulled a crystalline heart from the folds of her tunic and offered it out to the storm. A liquid hand reached out from the wall and took it from her quickly, causing the pigment to bleed from her skin. The red glow in the sky faded into a true, more comforting shade of blue.  _

_ But for the Princess, the damage was already done. She laid upon the black earth, her body in greyscale, fading away. The hand emerged once more from the water, laid upon her cheek. _

_ Was this the end? _

_ ‘You didn’t deserve this burden,’ An unknown woman’s voice told her. Was it her? Tui? ‘The Sun in your blood burns. And my reprieve was only temporary.’ Yue knew about that, her sickness, and how lucky she had been to be saved. The healers, her father...they told her that there was no cure, and were eternally grateful for the Moon Spirit’s intervention from the disease. The one that Tui had shielded her from since infancy with her power and grace. _

_ With the cool touch of water, a vision appeared in the young girl’s head of a distant place that she had never seen before: it was a small town in the middle of rolling, yellow sand with a crystalline structure in its center, a bright, blistering sun shining down upon it. _

_ ‘Hope,’ Tui continued in a voice that got fainter and fainter with every moment, ‘healing.’ _

_ Yue opened her eyes. _

* * *

The ship sat on the furthest border of Northern Water Tribe territory, the last bastion of a safe haven before the Fire Nation threat became prevalent once again. It was a grand vessel as far as Water Tribe ships went, most built for speed and agility, while this one was made for the sole purpose of the Northern leader’s personal escort. 

The deck was even large enough for a flying bison to lounge on comfortably. 

Yue tangled her gloved fingers nervously in Appa’s thick fur, watching as the Avatar’s group were given their goodbyes from her father and his escort. She was far enough away not to catch the words, but she knew what he was saying anyway; an oath for her safety and a promise to return in good time. She only briefly heard–for a moment–Sokka’s voice reaching above the others, “On my life, I swear.” And the girl could only frown, not wanting him to take such dangerous promises for her when she knew how risky his mission really was. 

And truly Yue knew her father would have done this himself if he could, too overprotective and anxious to leave her fate in the hands of other youths, but the timeframe was much too small. He didn’t have a choice but to trust in the speed of a flying bison. 

Yue hovered in the shade produced by Appa’s bulk, wary of the deadly sun beating down on her. But there was no need. Her body was already covered head to toe with cooler, travel-ready clothing, and not a trace of her skin was exposed to the sun’s rays. The low-hanging hood and soft scarf reaching up over her chin effectively prevented anyone from truly seeing her face. And a round white mask had been set aside in her pack of belongings in case she needed it. 

But the purpose of her layers wasn’t really to disguise her from prying eyes, but rather, to shield her from the burning sun. Her illness, in its true state. As a baby, Yue had been too weak to survive long enough to feel the full symptoms, but the Sun-Blight was heavy upon her now. 

Hypersensitivity to sunlight, fatigue, dizziness, and nausea caused therein, and a constant eating away at her body and mind until she crumbled to the same fate Tui had saved her from so long ago. In all of the Northern Tribe’s records, there was no knowledge of anyone having survived the sickness to their twenties, not even the strongest of those afflicted, and Yue knew she had far less time than they. It was a dreadful thing to experience and a fear for the northern healers, an illness with no known cure, save for the cryptic visions the Moon Spirit had left in the girl’s dreams. Yugoda had tried to avoid talking about it in front of her, but Yue already knew what kind of burden she was dealing with, and why her fate now lied with the Avatar’s retinue.

But after choosing to sacrifice herself, it was difficult for Yue to have much hope.

The young girl’s eyes flicked up to find her father standing before her, having finished his talk with her new traveling companions. Without warning, Chief Arnook stepped forward and grabbed his daughter tightly in a fierce hug, tense with obvious anxiety. Yue knew that if he had the option, her father would send an entire squad of his finest warriors and benders with her, but he knew that a large force would slow them down too much.

They didn’t know how much time Yue had left, but she knew that every moment saved mattered.

It must have been a difficult thing for her father to admit; he was still a traditional man at heart. But he’d have to accept letting her go in the hands of a handful of allies even younger than her. 

“I love you so much. Every day I’ll pray for the spirits to guide your safe return,” He whispered into her shoulder, and she clutched him back firmly before he separated. Yue’s eyes were red and watery, yet somehow she was strong enough not to allow a tear to drip down her cheeks. He nodded at her once and the girl turned away, where the others were waiting for her. She caught Chief Arnook meeting Sokka’s gaze once, sternly, before his expression softened as the young warrior grasped Yue’s hand as he guided her gently into Appa’s saddle. 

“Goodbye father,” Yue told him in a fragile voice, her grip firm on the rim of the saddle, seated comfortably in between Sokka and Katara. 

She was thankful that they chose that moment to take off into the sky; Yue knew she didn’t want her father to see the tears that spilled over her cheeks in that moment. Despite the vision that wavered in her memories like a distant mirage, and the young warrior’s fierce insistence that they would find a way to save her, Yue still didn’t believe it. 

She was going to die. She was almost certain of it. And this was probably going to be the last time that she got a chance to see her father before the end. 

* * *

Yue had never traveled before meeting Sokka, never even been outside the city walls. It had been one thing for the young warrior to sneak her out on an impromptu bison ride before the siege unfolded, but actually flying well outside Water Tribe territory with a trio of fellow teens for company? Well, it fell well outside her expectations. 

But even if her expectations about the journey were so low, they really tried to make things as enjoyable for her as possible. 

Aang tried to teach her various travel games, things the Air Nomads had invented. Little things to take her mind off of the uncertainty, and games with the collection of marbles the young Avatar kept in his bag. Yue found that she could admire his optimism, his quick insistence to strike up a friendship with her (even when part of her wondered why he bothered). 

Katara liked to talk about her home and family, and while stirring a hearty stew proceeded to spin Yue a story about her father and the warriors bringing home a massive haul after a hunt and the whole village had celebrated together. Along with what Sokka had already told her, it only made the differences between the North and South even more drastic. Yue wished she’d had the chance to visit them one day; the knowledge of how diminished they were didn’t discourage her. Katara was all too eager to share too, a veritable well of hospitality. 

Yue wished she had friends like them growing up, or had the chance to have any friends at all.

But then there was Sokka. Sweet, funny, chivalric Sokka. 

He deserved so much. So much more than to tie himself to a dying girl. Yue wished she could do something to stop him, convince him to find someone else, to stop clinging so fiercely to this, but the young warrior wouldn’t hear a word of such talk. It wasn’t hard to see that he wasn’t the optimistic or the hopeful type; when Aang or Katara gambled on a risky route, Sokka would put his foot down and dissuade them. But he was willing to take a gamble on her? He was insistent that her vision had to mean that they had the time to make it, but Yue wasn’t as certain.

One night, after a long day of flying, the little group had camped out on a cliffside plateau, sheltered in the wind-blocking bulk of the bison. Yue had woken in the night to a tap on her shoulder, coming to with a jolt to find Sokka knelt down with a finger at his lips and a smile teasing at the corners of his lips. “I want to show you something,” He said in a conspiratorial whisper, holding out a hand for her to take. The girl smiled, a little nervously, and let the young man lead her up away from the campsite nearer to the cliff's dropoff.

Spreading out before them was a sight that Yue had never seen back home. Their camp site was overlooking a sprawling forest, cut off at the horizon by cresting hills and mountain ranges. Such things alone were unheard of in the north, but Yue had started to get used to the sight of green and brown taking the place of white and blue, though this was something more. Under the cool wind racing down from the east, the treetop foliage moved and undulated together like the waves of the sea. Under the night sky, the trees were nearly black, illuminated only softly by the light of the moon shining down on them. She could imagine herself on the palace balcony, watching the waves of the ocean shifting in the night. Yue breathed out slowly, “Sokka…”

“It’s nice, right?” He asked, nervously. “It was hard to get used to too, when we left home. But just sometimes, if you look real hard, you can pretend that you’re still there.” Sokka coughed awkwardly into his fist and gave her a crooked smile, “It’s a pretty warm night y’know. Stuffy. I think it would be ok if you took down your hood til morning…”

Yue’s fingers twitched anxiously. Should she?

It was Sokka’s small, encouraging grin that convinced her. 

The princess hooked her hand under the low-hanging hood and tossed it back over her shoulders, freeing her long hair and exposing her face to the cool breeze. An easy gesture, and yet, she had learned to fear it, even with the sun safely set. After all, she wasn’t exactly what she once was. On the first day she’d left home, still aboard her father’s vessel, Yue had been careless. Her hood had slipped, leaving a sliver of her neck exposed for the sun’s rays to quickly redden and burn. Even now it was still visible. There were other signs of her illness that were making themselves known too: the growing glaze in her eyes or the lost luster in her hair, now more of a shade of light gray than white. And yet… 

“You’re beautiful,” Sokka said, his voice soft. Still. 

Yue swallowed and lowered her head, shaking her head slightly, “I’m...I’m not…” She  _ knew  _ this was only going to get worse. Could he love her when she was a withered husk of her old self? Could she stand to disappoint him when her illness ruined her? Yue knew that she couldn’t.

“Hey,” The boy’s voice distracted her, “It’s gonna be fine. I’m telling you, if the Moon Spirit went out of her way to give you that vision, then she must have known that you’d have time to find a cure.” He gestured up at the sky casually, where the gleaming moon was shining down on them. It was a nice thought, that Tui gave her a string of hope, but still… 

Yue felt like she couldn’t hurt him with her pessimism, and didn’t protest. “I feel like...I’ll...only be a burden to the rest of you,” She whispered instead, voicing aloud a different anxiety.

Sokka’s expression fell. “Well to be honest...I know how you feel.” Yue jerked and looked up at him, and allowed the boy to grasp her hand gently, a dull uncertainty in his voice. “Don’t tell Katara and Aang about this, okay? The kid Avatar and my little sister have enough to worry about as it is. I need to stay strong for them.” Sokka glanced her way, a bittersweet smile on his face, “It’s just that, Aang’s the  _ Avatar,  _ y’know? And Katara’s probably going to be the strongest waterbender out there one day. Next to that, what am I? I’m just ‘Sokka,’ another dumb guy swinging a weapon around hoping that something–anything–will change.”

Yue shook her head slowly, but the young warrior continued on, already on a roll. “The truth is that I’m desperate. I don’t know what lies at the end of this journey, but I know that I can’t possibly go about my life without at least trying to save you!” Sokka tugged slightly at her wrist, and–knowing what he needed–Yue leaned into him and encircled him into an embrace. Sokka held her tightly, murmuring into Yue’s collarbone, “I can’t just let you die!”

For a moment, Yue just held him, her mind racing with thoughts. What if Tui had never been harmed? What if she had been born undamaged? Would they have been able to be together, like this–not racing against time? She had a feeling that they might have; Yue knew in her heart that Sokka would have approached her no matter what happened. His brave heart would lead the way.

It was a nice thought. 

But, at the same time, Yue didn’t want him risking himself for her. Not by himself.

Her fingers tightened around his hand when she realized the direction that her thoughts were going, but it wasn’t enough to stop them. “Hey, Sokka…” Yue spoke up before she could change her mind, “could you...teach me how to fight?”

Sokka jolted in surprise. “Teach–? Wait, you want to learn how to…”

Yue shook her head in negation. “No. No, I don’t.” She let it simmer for a moment before Sokka cocked his head at her, wondering what she really meant. “I hate fighting, and I hate war. But…” Her grip on him tightened, an anxious tremor running through her, “I hate the idea of being helpless even more. I was always helpless in the North, not allowed to defend myself even if given the opportunity. And here I am, traveling across the world, ready to venture into unknown perils… You want to protect me, I know, but...I want to protect you too! I have to!” 

Sokka looked thoughtful, and nervous. She couldn’t truly blame him; she knew how much he worried, and not just about her. “You sure?” At her firm nod, the warrior proceeded to pull a sheathed weapon from his belt and handed it to her. Pulling at the handle revealed a curved, jawbone knife, sharp on one side, hard and blunt on the other. “For now, take this. It’s not really meant for self-defense but...it’s sharp and easy to use.” He paused, scratching the back of his head, “I mostly just use my boomerang and mace anyway, and when you’ve gotten the hang of that, maybe I can teach you about the machete too!”

Sokka was rambling slightly, but that was fine. Yue smiled at him fondly, taken in by his energy. “I’d like that,” She said, a tickle of sinful hope coming to life inside her. She still didn’t want to fight, but if he was teaching her, if she was at his side, then it would be okay. 

* * *

So they learned together, mostly when the sun set during their travels. During the day, Sokka guiltily asked her to wear her mask, so that her hood didn’t shift too much while she learned to duck and dodge. At times she practised the forms he showed her, at others they sparred with sticks, and Sokka imparted a few things he learned during his visit to the faraway Kiyoshi island. Yue knew she was weak and a slow learner; she had never done anything so strenuous. 

But she was stubborn, and Sokka only wanted to help. 

Even though the reason was dire, she learned to enjoy these slow sessions with him. Yue smiled and laughed at times, temporarily forgetting her misery, her pessimism. 

Only for it to rear up again when they laid down to bed. Every time they failed to find a map that would lead to her vision, Yue found her certainty in her own demise growing, something she worked hard to hide from the boy who wanted the world for her. 

And on every misadventure they found themselves in, her feelings only grew more complex. 

She felt her anxiety twist when they ventured through the cave famous for it’s story of lovers, secretly jealous of the secret chamber Aang and Katara found together, wishing it had been her and Sokka instead. Instead she tried to hum a gentle tune in time to help charm badgermole that charged up from the earth, grasping the warrior’s hand in her’s. 

She held in her hands a child from Omashu and wondered what his parents were thinking at that very moment, and how scared they must be. Yue remembered her father’s agonized farewell, and begged for them to bring the child back. But she should have remembered what a kind person Aang was, how he placed a hand on her shoulder and promised that they would. 

She faced visions of black and white fish in the dank swamp, plagued by accusations that she should have died. She was only the refuse left behind.  _ A sacrificial doll. _ All she had to do was  **_disappear._ ** And then Sokka ran out of the trees, crying, and grabbed her in his arms. Delusional with a vision of his own, the young man  _ begged _ for her forgiveness for failing to protect her, that he would do better if only he had another chance. They held each other until the tears stopped. 

She saw her first  _ real  _ fight, the utter chaos unleashed when the Fire Nation mercenaries attacked the town of Chin. Yue hadn’t truly been prepared for it, but when she saw the bowman aiming his sights on Sokka, she felt a wave of adrenaline take over her for the first time that she remembered. In hindsight, it was a bit embarrassing to know that she attacked with the wrong side of the knife, but if her actions knocked the man out, then she still did good work. 

But something...something irrevocably shifted the day she met the fifth member of their little group. 

In Gaoling, Aang found a sign that he had been searching for: a girl in green, a confusing and undeniable hope for earthbending. A girl who was Yue’s mirror in circumstance, but her complete opposite in everything else. The daughter of the noble House of Beifong. 

Even up in the northern reaches, Yue had heard about this family. 

She read about their expansive trading empire, how fine the silks coming out of the Beifong estate were, and the wealth of their blood. But she had never heard a word of their child. She wished she had. Maybe Yue would have strived for freedom earlier, if she knew about a girl like this. 

But then, Yue wasn’t a master earthbender either. 

And just like that, the pessimism threatened to consume her once again. Setting it aside, Yue tossed off her hood as they set down for evening dinner. Toph shot her a gesture of her head at the motion, but didn’t interrogate her. Yue knew they’d have to explain sooner or later, even if Toph was blind, she should still know her situation. But Yue still struggled to talk about it, her newfound fear of the sun, the touch of light that burned like agony when she was careless enough to let it reach her skin… She’d tell her later. 

But when Sokka started planning their new itinerary, Toph tossed him a satchel from her supplies, saying roughly, “This stuff might help.” 

“What is all this,” Sokka grumbled, rubbing his shoulder where the pack had bounced off him. He opened it and started rifling through it haphazardly, and Katara leaned down to help. 

“Dunno,” Toph shrugged. “Mom said they were ‘travel supplies to help the Avatar. But after that mess at the Earth Rumble, they decided to withhold it. It’s just a bunch of parchment though.”

“Not just parchment, maps!” The siblings’ voices rang out in unison. 

Yue bolted to attention. What?

“Yue!” Sokka ran over to where Yue was still seated in surprise, unrolling several scrolls before her, hopeful excitement spreading across his face. “Look! We’ve got so many here to choose from. None on the Fire Nation, but that’s fine! There’s got to be something in here about the place you saw in your vision.” He knelt down next to her, pulling the maps into her lap while Yue struggled not to get overcome by his infectious enthusiasm. “Here, look!”

Distantly, Yue registered Katara taking aside a very confused and out-of-the-loop Toph to try to explain what was going on, but it was like all of their voices were underwater. Because all of a sudden, she saw hope flare inside her as she found one map unrolled before her. “This is it,” She breathed, pointing to a tiny town marked on the desert map, little more than a rest stop, with something like a glittering crystal–or ice–at its center. “This is the place.”

“Hope,” Tui had told her. This was where Yue would find her hope for a cure.

Part of her had wondered if it even existed. 

In between Sokka rushing to pack his bags, Aang’s excitement in ushering her to Appa’s saddle, Katara and Toph bringing up the rear with an attempt at calm, Yue felt a true, genuine smile rushing to her face. She was crying, but laughing too. 

Because maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t all in vain after all.


End file.
